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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299253">Guilty Conscience</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/70x1c_7r45h_b01/pseuds/70x1c_7r45h_b01'>70x1c_7r45h_b01</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, High School, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:42:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25299253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/70x1c_7r45h_b01/pseuds/70x1c_7r45h_b01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Patrick keeps running into his best friend's crush. When he starts to also have feelings for him, he can't help but feel bad.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Patrick Stump/Mikey Way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patrick closed his locker and turned to see the smiling face of his best friend looking at him. Pete was definitely about to convince him to do something they shouldn't. Patrick sighed. "What are you planning now?" Pete's expression didn't even waiver as he put his arm around his friend's shoulder to start on the spiel as they walked home. Patrick was spending the weekend at Pete's house so he knew he would end up going along with whatever it was.</p><p>Patrick had indeed once again let his best friend talk him into doing something questionable. To make things worse he was third wheel on this adventure as some girl from one of their classes was currently clinging to Pete's arm as Patrick followed them into the cemetery near Pete's house. It had gotten dark a couple hours ago but Pete's parents weren't home, so they had no problem leaving this late. They never did. They weaved through graves back to an area between two mausoleums. Pete took the bag from his shoulder and took out a beer, offering it to Patrick, which he firmly refused, then to the flavor of the week next to him. She enthusiastically took it, opened it and took a drink before settling herself on the ground. Pete sat down against the wall next to her with his own beer and Patrick slid down the wall to sit a short distance away.</p><p>After a while of chat and them drinking, they all heard laughter nearby. They all looked at each other deciding what to do as it seemed to be getting closer. Before they could make any movement they saw a dark haired boy hanging off his shorter friend, both laughing and carrying liquor bottles which they had obviously already started into. They stopped when they saw the trio sitting there and the taller of the two blinked heavily and slurred "I know you guys" they other boy studied them for a moment before agreeing "yeah! You're in my social studies class!" he pointed at Pete. The girl with them, Patrick really needed to remember her name, jumped up and exclaimed "You're Frank! We're in geometry together!" He looked at her like she didn't look familiar. That seemed to have jogged Pete's memory though. "Oh yeah! Frank, that's right-" The taller boy cut them off having just remembered "PETE! Yeah you're Pete right?" Frank looked between the two of them a moment as Pete nodded agreement "Yeah and you're Gerard, right?" Frank cut back in again "Oh, yeah I think I do remember you... and your friend." he nodded toward Patrick who had so far been ignored. He looked at all of them wide eyed, not quite sure how to respond so he just gave a small wave and half smile. The two newcomers flopped down next to them and the four shared alcohol and stories, while Patrick sat there feeling out of place, until Gerard and Frank decided to get up and wander off somewhere else.</p><p>The girl, Patrick was really hoping that introduction session earlier would have given him a name but he would just have to ask Pete later, pulled Pete into a kiss that turned into a full make-out session. Patrick groaned annoyed and turned himself away from them to avoid watching.</p><p>After what seemed like hours but was actually only a minute of two Patrick heard footsteps nearing. He assumed it was Gerard and Frank, but a slim boy with glasses leaned down into Patrick's view "hello? You okay there?" Patrick nodded and looked up at him as he stood back up. "Um I'm looking for my brother, have you seen anybody else here? ...well other than the two with their tongues down each others throats over there." he gestured toward Pete. Patrick nodded uh yeah, I think their names were Frank and Gerard." Mikey sighed in relief "That'd be them." he glances toward Pete then back to Patrick with a pitying look. "You uh, you wanna go help me look for them? Maybe get away from the happy couple for a bit?" Patrick didn't hesitate before standing as he answered. "Yes, please!" He started walking off the direction he had seen the other two stumble off in. "They went this way." Mikey hurriedly followed after, both slowing once they got a little distance away. "So, my name's Mikey, what's yours?" Patrick dead stopped and looked at him, his mind racing Mikey? THE Mikey? The one Pete had been talking about? The guy he had been crushing on but for some reason couldn't get the nerve to talk to, resulting in him instead dating somebody new every week? THAT Mikey? It couldn't be. Mikey stopped too, turning to him. "What? What happened?" Patrick shook his head, pushing that thought away, it couldn't be. "Nothing, sorry. Patrick. My name is Patrick." He smiled and they continued on their search.</p><p>After an hour with no success they decided to go back to the mausoleums. They found Pete and the unnamed girl hurriedly shoving the empty bottles back into the backpack. Pete looked up and an expression of relief washed over his face as he saw Patrick but that was short lived as he saw Mikey and went wide eyed. Oh no, I guess this was THE Mikey.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been about a month since that little incident at the cemetery. Once they were alone at his house, Pete had kind of lost it on Patrick. Demanding to know how Patrick had ended up off somewhere with Mikey &amp; without even telling him. Saying he was worried but demanding to know why Patrick brought Mikey back when he knew Pete was with somebody else. Patrick just sat there quietly &amp; listened to the rant until Pete had finished. He tried to explain that Mikey had been the one that found them all there originally &amp; asked him to leave the other two there. He apologised for leaving &amp; for not realizing that was the guy Pete had been talking about.... That apology just prompted another rant from Pete that maybe he wasn't really paying attention to their conversations then. Patrick knew he needed to let Pete cool off, so he just let him be for a bit.</p><p>Things between them had quickly gone back to normal but Pete had made a point to avoid going back to that cemetery. Patrick didn't mind that at all.</p><p>It was yet again the end of the school week and Patrick had yet to see Pete since their last class together. This wasn't unusual lately though. The same girl, who Patrick finally found out was named Kai, was very persistently stuck to Pete's side these days. As Patrick walked by the parking lot he heard someone call his name, he stopped and looked over to see Pete attempting to extricate his arm from Kai's grip. He couldn't hear what Pete was telling her, but after a few moments he jogged over to meet Patrick, leaving Kai looking annoyed. "She's driving me nuts" Pete hissed when he got close enough. Patrick sniffed trying to hold back laughter as they headed off toward their houses. Pete gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "It's not funny." He pouted, but quickly smiled and changed the subject. "I heard about this really cool place we should go check out! Find out if you can stay over this weekend." Patrick agreed as they parted to go to their own houses.</p><p>He couldn't go that night because he had neglected some chores that week. However, he got them done and was knocking on Pete's door, bag in hand, Saturday evening. Pete stepped out, grabbing Patrick's bag and leading him to his room as he spoke quickly. "Let's put your stuff down and go get something to eat before we go." Pete exchanged Patrick's bag for one he already had packed on the floor of his room then they did just that. The two were seated at a table before Patrick asked for an explanation. "So, where is it we're going?" Pete shifted in his seat grinning. That couldn't be good. "I heard about this abandoned building, at the edge of the woods, that's supposed to be haunted." The color drained from Patrick's face. "W-what?" Pete didn't seem to notice. " I know! It's going to be so much fun! Maybe we can get a ghost to grab your shirt" a brief pause as he seemed to have another thought "or better yet, maybe one will scratch me!". Their food arrived and Pete continued excitedly giving wild scenarios he hoped would happen to them on their adventure tonight.</p><p>When they had finished their meal it was just starting to get dark. Perfect time to go look for some ghosts, at least according to Pete.</p><p>It took them a bit longer to get there than expected, so it was completely dark by the time the pair were nearing where the building should be. Pete dug in his bag, retrieving a couple flashlights and handing one to Patrick. It ended up not quite being at the edge of the woods, but actually a decent hike back into them. When they got inside they immediately thought they heard voices. They looked at eachother "There really are ghosts!" Pete whispered, bouncing on his toes. Patrick doubted the voices to be quite so paranormal. He had a death grip on his flashlight as he followed Pete further down a hallway. There were definitely footsteps on the floor above them, more voices down the hall, laughter. "Pete, I think there are other people here. We should leave." he tugged at his friend's jacket, but was brushed off with "It's fine, don't be such a scaredy cat." They got to the bottom of a stairway, the walls marked with rather unsavory graffiti, when all of a sudden they heard a stifled yelp and somebody running down the stairs. Before they could even move the person had run right into Pete, knocking him over. The quick scuffle ended when Patrick shone his flashlight on the two of them and they realised who the other was. "Kai?" because of course it was her "What are you doing here?" Pete asked the girl who was disentangling herself from him to stand up. He also stood and brushed himself off as she looked at them confused. "A bunch of people from school decided to come here tonight and look for ghosts. Isn't that why you're here?" they both shook their heads "Not exactly" Pete rubbed the back of his neck "I heard some guy talking about it on that call in show on the radio Friday." Kai mouthed "oh" frowning. She quickly attached herself to Pete's arm as per usual though and they decided to continue looking around.</p><p>They may not have any supernatural encounters with so many people there, but it was still an interesting building. Lots of rooms off long hallways. They really couldn't tell what it had once been, most of the rooms were near empty. A couple doors were locked. They crossed paths with a few other random groups of people on the second floor. Usually startling each other then all laughing it off and pointing to anything interesting they had found. A couple unfortunate dead animals, desks with typical office supplies. On the third floor, they even stopped and watched as one group was even having a desk chair race down a hallway. A couple more groups joined in as they stood there. Most of the kids Patrick couldn't match a name to, but he definitely recognised one pair of racers. Gerard was sitting in a chair laughing as Frank ran pushing him down the hallway against a couple of football players. Mikey stepped up beside them, much to Pete's horror."Hey, stranger, I see you're playing third wheel again." he said, completely ignoring the couple. Patrick wasn't sure what to do so Pete wouldn't be upset again so he just stammered "Hello, uh, this is my best friend Pete by the way." He gestured as Pete did his best to move to obstruct Kai from Mikey's view. Pete smiled, but Mikey barely glanced at him just giving a quick "hi" and a nod before turning his attention back to the race.</p><p>They all stood there in awkward silence another few moments before Patrick noticed some papers on the floor of the room behind them and stepped in to investigate. He really was curious what this place used to be and was hoping for a clue. He heard a few groans, disappointed sighs, and shuffling from the other kids outside as he looked through the pages, but he didn't really care enough who was winning to go check. There was a second doorway within the room, he went in and looked through a desk. A lot more footsteps &amp; muffled conversation from the hall. There were only receipts for coffee &amp; fast food, a few pens, a stapler, paperclips... nothing interesting.</p><p>When he stepped back out the races seemed to have stopped. Pete &amp; Kai were nowhere in sight. Almost nobody was. Patrick wondered what had happened. He shone his light up and down the hall and spent several minutes checking the nearby rooms for them to no avail as the remaining few kids left the area. He resigned himself to wandering around alone.</p><p>As he tried to find his way back to the stairs, with significantly fewer flashlights in the area, he heard his name being called from the hallway he just passed. He stopped and took a step back shining his light down the hall. He didn't see anyone "Pete?" he called out, hopeful. That wasn't who stepped out from a room &amp; into the light though. Mikey shined his own flashlight at Patrick, squinting at each other as they realized who they were looking at, before walking toward each other. Mikey spoke first "Where were you?" "The room right behind where we had been standing... there were papers in there... nothing good though." Mikey sounded confused "wha?- nevermind" Mikey started leading him down a different hallway &amp; Patrick followed along. He decided he needed to know so he asked "What happened, where did everybody else go?". "Frank decided a chair spinning match was a good idea, one of the jocks puked &amp; everybody decided that was game over. When I noticed you weren't with everybody downstairs I came back up to look for you." Patrick blinked, surprised, looking at the figure walking beside him in the dark. Mikey came back for him but Pete didn't? Or maybe they both did and he just ran into Mikey first... yeah that's probably what happened.</p><p>When they got outside it only took a few moments of looking around to find Pete, Kai pulling at his arm. They got closer and could hear her whine "Let's just go." Pete shook her off annoyed and snapped "I've gotta find Patrick" before turning and almost running smack into him. "Oh thank goodness!" He grabbed Patrick by the shoulders "I was worried when we couldn't find you." Patrick was a bit embarrassed to have caused distress. "I'm fine, Pete, Mikey came back to find me." He immediately regretted saying that when he looked around and noticed Mikey was nowhere in sight and Pete would have been none the wiser. Pete narrowed his eyes at him so Patrick quickly tried to change the topic. "Seems like everybody is leaving though we should probably head back to your house." Pete looked around and agreed. Patrick knew they would be having another conversation about this, but at least it could wait until they were back at Pete's.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The following week went by quickly enough. Pete had so far been unsuccessful in breaking it off with Kai, but it seemed to Patrick that he wasn't really trying that hard to anymore. He had promised Pete he would do his best to introduce him to Mikey again when Kai wasn't around. If she was though, which she seemed to always be, he guessed he would just try to keep Mikey from seeing that. He wasn't sure how that was going to work, but he would try.</p><p>The abandoned building was apparently the hot new hangout spot and there was going to be a "super secret" party there this weekend. Pete, of course, insisted that they go; and Patrick, of course, agreed to it.</p><p>Friday night he knocked on Pete's door and was greeted by his rather distressed looking best friend. Pete stepped out onto the porch with Patrick instead of inviting him in and closed the door. In a hushed tone he flatly said "She's here.". Patrick gave him a confused look. "Kai, she somehow found out about the party and just showed up." Patrick's brows went up in surprise. Before he could say anything though, the door opened again &amp; Kai stood there smiling "Hey Pat, what's going on?" He frowned at her "Don't call me that." He brushed past her to go put his bag in Pete's room before rejoining them on the porch and all heading out. "So what's the plan?" He asked Pete, trying to leave the question open enough in case he was going to try to ditch Kai. She answered for him though. "What do you mean, what's the plan? We're going to the big party. Duh." Pete locked eyes with Patrick &amp; he just sighed.</p><p>It seemed that pretty much all the kids at school had heard about the "super secret" party and had shown up. Judging by all the plastic cups in peoples hands, there seemed to be a decent alcohol supply somewhere. Someone had gotten one of those huge flashlights and had it lighting up the entire downstairs main hallway. People sat on random desk chairs talking, some had brought pillows &amp; blankets to chill on. Others were busy ghost hunting on other floors. They wandered around and found a desk setup with an abundance of different beverages by where the flashlight was, like a beacon to underage intoxication. Pete &amp; Kai grabbed cups. "Come on 'Trick, it's a party, have some fun." Was all it took this time to convince Patrick to accept the cup his friend offered him. Might as well.</p><p>There was a slip-n-slide in one of the hallways for some reason. How had they found water for it? Was that even safe? Who knows. Didn't seem like anyone cared either. There was stomping around upstairs and muffled music down the hall. Patrick wandered away from the soaked group of kids, toward the music. He had lost Pete a couple drinks ago, but that was fine. It didn't matter anyways, he was fine on his own. At least that's what he told himself as he walked through the makeshift dance floor surrounding a battery powered cd player. He weaved through the crowd to find somewhere quieter, maybe the next floor up. There were lots of people talking at the top of the stairway, but it seemed like only a few were still up here wandering around.</p><p>He had his flashlight aimed at the floor &amp; the noise below drowned out the footsteps, so he didn't notice when someone walked up and grabbed his arm. He yelped and spilled the rest of his drink onto the floor. He dropped the cup and stared at it dejectedly. The person who grabbed him stepped around in front of him waving their hand in front of his face. He blinked heavily &amp; looked up turning his flashlight to their face, a bit too far. The person brought their arms up to block the light. "Woah, you trying to blind me or something?" "Mikey?" Patrick wondered aloud. Mikey grabbed the flashlight from Patricks hand, redirecting the beam. "Yeah, Patrick, it's Mikey." He paused "I saw you wander off from the dance party back there looking a little lost. You good?" Patrick nodded &amp; started walking down the dim hallway again "Yeah... just... just gonna go...." He didn't finish the sentence, but Mikey followed after him, lighting the hall for them. "Where?" "Quiet" was all he responded. They only took a few more steps before they heard the music shut off. "Must have run out of batteries." Mikey commented, stopping after a couple more steps, noticing his companion wasn't beside him. He turned around to see the other boy leaning against the wall then sliding down it to sit on the floor. Mikey crouched down beside him. "You sure you're alright?" Patrick leaned his head back against the wall. Before taking his glasses off and wiping his faces with his arm. He was crying, Mikey realized. He leaned in and hugged the other boy to him. In a soothing tone he asked "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Patrick leaned into the embrace, burying his face in Mikey's shirt &amp; mumbling "I'm tired of this, I don't want to be here." Mikey rubbed circles on his back &amp; continued to talk to him in a soothing tone. "It's okay, we don't have to be here. Why don't we leave?" Patrick sniffled "I can't. I can't leave Pete. He'll worry." Mikey sat back to look at him. "It's okay, we'll just be outside. Get some fresh air." Patrick nodded &amp; Mikey used the tail of his jacket to wipe his face dry before he put his glasses back on &amp; helped him up.</p><p>When they reached the stairs they could hear yells and laughter on the floor below them. It seemed like everyone had relocated from that area to further down the hall. The large flashlight had been moved and the hall below was once again dark. They went down the steps, Mikey carefully lighting them as they went. They could see the brighter light coming from a door Patrick had been sure was locked last time they had been there. It definitely sounded like that's where everyone was too. They made their way outside &amp; wandered a short distance into the woods before stopping in a small clearing and sitting down against a tree to talk. "Why do you go along to stuff like this if you don't really want to?" Mikey asked. The shorter boy shrugged. "Pete's my best friend." "But he's got his girlfriend, and you look pretty miserable every time I see you with them." "She's not his girlfriend... I'm not really sure if he likes her or not...". "I mean he had his tongue down her throat that night I first met you, so I'd assume he doesn't hate her." Patrick shrugs again "It's not always like that.".</p><p>Before he can explain further though, there were several sudden pops, a loud bang, &amp; screaming from the building. They jumped up - Mikey had to steady Patrick after the quick movement - but they moved as quickly as they could back to where they could see flames coming from the side of the building and a sea of kids running to escape. Mikey grabbed Patrick's hand &amp; tried to pull him back further away. He pulled his hand away and took a step closer before Mikey grabbed his arm. He tried to pull away again "I have to go find Pete.". "No." Mikey told him firmly. "You can't do that Patrick. The cops are definitely going to show up after that and you're kinda drunk." He sighed. "Lets just go to my house. I'll take you back home or to Pete's or wherever tomorrow. Okay?" Patrick felt like this was probably a bad idea, but couldn't exactly put together why, so he just nodded. Mikey grabbed his hand again &amp; pulled him along further through the woods until they exited into the back of a neighborhood Patrick didn't recognise. At least the boy he was being led by seemed to know where they were going.</p><p>They followed the sidewalk down to a two story house &amp; went inside. Gerard and Frank seemed to be passed out on the couch, or so he thought. "Heyyyyy!'' Frank greats when he notices them trying to pass by. Patrick trips over nothing and falls flat on his face &amp; Gerards eyes pop open "Aww, Miiikes, I'm so proud of youuu." He laughs. "Shut up &amp; go downstairs before mom gets home &amp; sees you two trashed." Mikey snaps at his brother as he helps Patrick from the floor.</p><p>They then headed up the stairs to Mikey's room. He dug through his dresser, tossing Patrick some pajamas. "They're not gonna fit well but they should be fine for now," he says as he tries to help him change into them, but Patrick shoves him away. "Okay okay, get changed. I'll go get you some water." He left the room &amp; Patrick did as he was told with only a bit of difficulty. Mikey returned with water, pillows, blankets &amp; a bottle of ibuprofen, to see Patrick sitting there on the floor. Mikey drops the pillow &amp; blankets next to him. "No, you're sleeping on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor. You're going to have a rough enough morning as it is." Patrick didn't argue. He crawled into the bed &amp; took the bottle of water he was handed, drinking half of it before setting it aside, laying down and falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Mikey left the medicine and water on the side table and situated himself on the floor before also going to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Mikey woke up first. He hadn't drank nearly as much as the other 3 boys so he was fairing better than they were today. It was still almost noon before he took some painkillers and emerged from his room. He used the bathroom and changed out of his pajamas then went downstairs to the kitchen to make some breakfast. </p>
<p>When he had almost finished cooking the scrambled eggs and toast, he heard the basement door creak open and moments later a rather worse for the wear looking Frank had joined him in the kitchen. Rubbing at his eyes, the shorter boy just asked “you make enough for everybody or am I grabbing some cereal?” Mikey held back a laugh “Don’t I usually make enough for you guys? Get the plates down, it’s almost ready.” Frank nodded and went over to the correct cabinet and grabbed dishes and cutlery for everyone before helping Mikey serve up the food for all of them and disappearing back into the basement with a pair of the plates. Mikey shook his head and cleaned up before taking the remaining plates along with a couple more bottles of water up to his room. </p>
<p>Patrick was sitting there in the bed looking rather miserable. Mikey walked over and set the plates on the bedside table then picked up the bottle of ibuprofen and handed it to him. “Here, take this and eat something.” Patrick squinted up at him, accepting the bottle and taking a couple pills. He gulped the rest of the half bottle of water he had from the night before. He rubbed his hands over his face, put on his glasses, and grabbed the plate of food, staring at it blankly before starting to eat. “Have you heard anything from Pete?” he mumbled with a mouth full of toast. Mikey shook his head “No, but I doubt he has my number, so that’s not really surprising.” “oh… yeah” Patrick agrees then continues eating in silence as the other boy has settled himself at his desk to eat his own breakfast. “Whenever  you feel up to it I’ll borrow Gee’s car and take you back to his house.... sorry for kinda just kidnapping you last night.” Patrick stopped eating to look at him “No, it’s fine. Thank you.” “for what?” Mikey stops and looks back at him. “I probably would have done something stupid if you hadn’t, so thanks.” He sets his plate down in his lap. “We can go back whenever…”. “Finish eating first.” Mikey commands as he finishes the last of his own food. Patrick does as he’s told while listening to the other continue “ your clothes are pretty dirty, you can just wear those and return them later…”. The smaller boy nods and sets his empty plate on the nightstand. “Sorry for the trouble.” Mikey shakes his head “Don’t be. Let’s get you back to your friend's place huh?” he led Patrick downstairs and grabbed Gerard’s keys from the table by the door. He knew he’d be home before they were even missed so no need to ask. </p>
<p>Patrick directed him to Pete’s house, where he was dropped off. Pete answered the door in just enough time to see who was driving off. “Was that Mikey?” Patrick nodded as Pete let him in and they walked back to his room. “Where the fuck were you guys? We couldn’t find you after the fire!” he stopped once they got in his room and looked his friend up and down. “Wait. Whose clothes are those?” "Mikey's" Patrick mumbled, preparing himself to be yelled at. “What?!” Pete glared at him “What the fuck is going on with you lately, Patrick? You know I like him but you seem to be hanging out with him every time I turn around. Now you’re disappearing after a fire, not contacting me at all and just showing up the next day wearing Mikey Way’s clothes &amp; saying you just stayed at his house instead? Amazing thing to have my so called best friend do to me.” he ranted. </p>
<p>Patrick just sat there listening until that last sentence. That was enough, he couldn’t take this. “Do to you?! You’re the one that keeps dragging me along when you know good and well you’re going to spend the entire time ignoring me to make out with Kai or something. You say she’s annoying you but you seem to forget I exist half the time! You two disappeared long before Mikey even found me last night! You say how dare I not contact you, but how hard did you really try to get a hold of me either, huh?” his question was met with silence so he grabbed his bag and started off toward the door. Pete just glared at him as he went through the door, not even trying to stop him. Patrick slammed the door and stomped off to his house muttering to himself.</p>
<p>He didn’t dare slam his door as he got home, shutting it gently &amp; calling out “I’m home mom.” She walked around the corner moments later “You’re home early. I didn’t think you would be home until tomorrow.” he tried to smile at her “Sorry, I should have called and let you know.” “Go get changed so I can get those clothes washed for you to return to Pete on Monday. I’m not even going to ask why you couldn’t wear your own.” Patrick looked down as himself. “Oh yeah, I just kinda forgot... yeah I’ll do that.” He went back to his room, tossing his bag in the corner and switching to his own house clothes before taking the borrowed ones out to the laundry room and grabbing a quick meal. He really didn’t even feel like watching tv or reading so he just went right to bed. He spent the night having strange nightmares, but for some reason dream Mikey kept saving him.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patrick didn’t hear from Pete at all the next day and Monday it seemed like he was intentionally avoiding him. Fine. He was sure he could just concentrate on his school work and not even notice the distinct lack of a best friend in his school day. He didn’t need friends to learn and after all wasn’t that what he should be doing in the first place? That thought got him through the first few days, but by lunchtime on Friday he was feeling rather lonely. </p><p>He grabbed his lunch bag from his locker and out fell the clothes he had borrowed from Mikey. He’d completely forgotten to return them. He retrieved them from the floor, shut his locker and turned, almost ran right into someone. Standing there like he had just been summoned was Mikey. </p><p>The taller boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly "Uh, hi… sorry about sneaking up on you like that." Patrick flashed him a smile "No, no it's alright." He held out the clothes to Mikey "sorry I kinda forgot to give these back." Mikey took them &amp; quickly shoved them into his bag. "Oh. Uh i haven't really done laundry yet… I'll be sure to this weekend." He paused "You busy?" Patrick frowned &amp; shook his head "Not really, no. Pete's not exactly talking to me right now…" Mikey looked away "Yeah, I noticed you seemed to be alone every time I saw you this week… that's kinda why I came to find you. You, uh, you wanna wanna maybe join us for lunch?" He stumbled over his words trying to quickly add "I mean only if you want to. I don't… I don't really know what you've been doing for that…" Patrick laughed "I've been studying in the library. So, yeah, I'd love to join you." Mikey nodded &amp; gestured to follow him. </p><p>He led Patrick outside &amp; over behind one of the buildings. There two other boys were already sitting against the wall, talking. One has curly brown hair &amp; the other's looked just like Aladdin Sane era Bowie's hair. They waved when they noticed the two approaching. </p><p>Mikey greeted "Hey guys, this is Patrick. He's gonna join us." Patrick gave a small wave and smiled. The other two exchanged a knowing look, but Patrick missed the glare Mikey shot them before continuing. He gestured at the brunette first "That's Ray, and that's Atticus" he motioned to the other boy then took a seat on the ground next to him. </p><p>Patrick felt very self conscious as he sat down next to Mikey. They immediately warmed up to him and carried on their normal conversation, listening when he would try to contribute. It was nice to not spend lunch break with friendly people again, even if he couldn't shake the feeling there was something going on there that he didn't know about. </p><p>Eventually the bell rang and they all got up and brushed off to go back to class. Atticus &amp; Ray hurried off as quickly as they could while Mikey seemed to be intentionally taking a long time zipping his bag back up. Patrick didn't want to be late to class but also didn't want to just run off, so instead he just kinda awkwardly stood there not sure what to do until Mikey started walking back. Before they made it to the door Mikey stopped "So, uh, you maybe wanna hang out? This weekend I mean…" Patrick stopped walking &amp; looked at him nodding "Yeah, sure" he smiled before turning away to hurry off to his next class. </p><p>After school that day Mikey met Patrick at the front of the school to walk home together. Neither saw Pete walk out as they left the parking lot, but he definitely saw them.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a quickly thought up explanation of who this new friend his mother had never heard of was. She seemed very surprised when Patrick told her it wasn't Pete he was meeting up with. He chose to just omit how they actually met and tell her he was someone from school, they didn't have classes together so they've only hung out a few times recently. He of course also didn't tell her that he had already stayed over at Mikey's house one night she thought he was with Pete or that he was pretty sure Pete hated him for that. She believed him, and why shouldn't she? Nothing he had told her was technically a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth.</p><p>Early Saturday afternoon he met up with Mikey at a small cafe. They didn't really have much of a plan but they'd figure it out as they went.</p><p>Patrick hurried off to the little cafe he was supposed to be meeting Mikey at. He knew he was a bit too early so I planned to just wait on a bench outside and people watch for a bit. To his surprise, he found the other boy already waiting on that bench for him. He jogged over to greet him. "Hey, Mikey, you're here early."</p><p>He was answered with a smirk. "So are you."</p><p>The shorter boy bushed a little and looked down at the pavement as Mikey stood, put a hand on Patrick's shoulder &amp; reassured, "It's alright. Just means we can hang out a bit longer."</p><p>Patrick nodded and met his eyes again. "Yeah, okay." He smiled.</p><p>Mikey smiled back and offered his arm "shall we?"</p><p>Patrick blushed a bit more, biting his cheeks to stop a giggle as he linked their arms together.</p><p>They started off into the cafe, got seated across from each other at their table and placed their orders. They had a bot of small talk before Mikey finally asked "Pete still mad at you."</p><p>Patrick frowned and answered, sadly "Y- yeah"</p><p>Mikey immediately felt bad for asking. "I'm sorry, Patrick." He tried to comfort, placing a hand over Patrick's folded hands. "I didn't mean to make you sad. You guys are best friends, I'm sure he can't stay upset with you."</p><p>Patrick just nodded. He didn't want to voice his thoughts that he was positive that Pete would indeed stay mad at him as long as he continued to spend time with Mikey. He knew if he told Mikey what the problem actually was he would probably also stop being his friend to fix his friendship with Pete. Patrick absolutely didn't want that though. He understood Pete had a crush on Mikey but it really annoyed him that Pete had such a problem with him being friends with both of them. He really liked both Pete and Mikey, but it was different with Mikey for some reason he couldn't explain. He just figured it was because he was a new friend and he'd known Pete most of his life. No matter what though he knew he wasn't going to let Pete stop him from being friends with Mikey. He hoped he would stop being so jealous soon and they could just all be friends soon.</p><p>Their food arrived and they talked about music, favorite bands, some of their hobbies, stuff they liked to do when they weren't being dragged around by their other friends.</p><p>Patrick was a bit embarrassed when Mikey insisted on paying for both their meals and tried to make a half hearted joke about this not being a date, only to blush bright red, when Mikey responded with a wink and said "It could be."</p><p>Mikey made a note to do stuff like that more. He thought it was very cute when Patrick blushed.</p><p>They left the cafe and walked around a bit, stopping in a record shop for a bit before eventually walking to the park in the evening.</p><p>When they got away from the busy streets and into the park, they were pretty much alone. As they continued to walk, Mikey took a step closer to Patrick and grabbed his hand. Patrick was startled at first and pulled his hand away from Mikey, stopping in place. Mikey had walked an extra step, not expecting that reaction, before he stopped and turned around to face Patrick who was just staring at him in shock." I'm so sorry, Patrick! I thought it'd be okay, since we did before... That was different, I know, I should have asked. I get that it was too much. We can just pretend that never happened." The panicked words rapidly fell from his lips as he tried to apologise for his action.</p><p>Patrick finally snapped out of the shock. His gaze turned to the ground as he shook his head then took a step toward Mikey and grabbed his hand again. This effectively halts Mikey's apology. Patrick blushed bright red, continuing to stare intently at his feet as he spoke just above a whisper. "It's okay. You just surprised me is all."</p><p>Mikey shifted a bit awkwardly, nodding and giving Patrick's hand a gentle squeeze as he quietly answered "okay" before turning back around so they could continue walking.</p><p>They walked in silence for a little while after that, just enjoying the fresh air. Once they had gotten to the swings, Mikey finally let go of Patrick's hand and grabbed the chains of one swing, standing behind it. "Get on, I'll push you." Patrick complied and they both laughed and had a fun time as Mikey tried to see how high he could push the other and made jokes. They did that until Patrick got a bit freaked out by going even with the top of the swing set then they both just sat on the swings next to each other and talked until it was very dark.</p><p>Patrick suddenly remembered he indeed had a curfew since he was staying at home this weekend and hurriedly checked his watch. "Oh no!" He used his feet to fully stop the swing and stood up.</p><p>Mikey did the same, worriedly questioning "What happened? What is it?" he followed as Patrick was practically speed walking out of the park.</p><p>"I'm too used to staying at Pete's, I forgot I was supposed to be home over an hour ago!" His voice went higher as he spoke.</p><p>"You could always just stay at my house again." Mikey half joked, secretly hoping for a yes.</p><p>Patrick wasn't very amused though and said flatly. "I would definitely get in more trouble for that."</p><p>"Yeah, sorry. No time to joke." Mikey agreed, not wanting to make things worse. "Let's just get you home. I'll walk with you."</p><p>They were out of breath by the time they got to Patrick's house. They stopped on the front porch and Mikey hugged him. He had a bit of a delayed reaction, hugging back then waving bye before quietly trying to sneak into the house.</p><p>By some miracle his mom was already asleep and he was able to get to his room unnoticed. He changed into his pajamas and flopped into the bed with a sigh.</p><p>He was more confused than ever about Mikey and what his feelings were for him. He had a lot to think about.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
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    <p>Patrick spent a lot of time trying to figure out what his feelings were for Mike. In the end he didn’t have a definite answer, so he decided to just keep acting as he had been to spite his confusion and hope to figure it out.</p>
<p>When he went to school on Monday he opened his locker to find a note.</p>
<p>“It looked like you were having fun at the park.” He had no time to even freak out though because once again, like he was summoned, Mikey steps up next to Patrick's locker. Patrick quickly crumpled the note, shoving it back into his locker and grabbed his book as Mikey greeted "hey, so i was thinking Saturday was fun, we should do that again."</p>
<p>Patrick nodded, forcing a smile. “Uh huh”</p>
<p>Mikey’s expression morphed to concern. “Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?”</p>
<p>Patrick shook his head vigorously, saying a bit too loud “No!” he stopped to force himself to continue quieter. “No, not at all. You’re fine.”</p>
<p>He was saved from further explanation by the sound of the bell ringing. He slammed his locker shut and hurried off to class.</p>
<p>After taking his seat, he quickly felt eyes on him. Looking around he noticed Pete a couple seats away, staring daggers at him. There was likely his explanation for that note. He should really try to talk to Pete. It didn’t look like this situation was going to resolve itself otherwise.</p>
<p>Pete did a good job of seemingly avoiding him between classes and always sat far enough away in classes to not be able to talk without causing a commotion. When lunch rolled around, Patrick refused Mikey’s invitation to eat with him in hopes of finally being able to speak with his best friend. He had no such luck though and didn’t see Pete at all for the rest of the day either. so he just walked home with Mikey.</p>
<p>He would keep unsuccessfully trying to talk to Pete for the next couple days.</p>
<p>Mikey had noticed that he just seemed off that week but hadn’t wanted to push it. By Wednesday, on their walk home that day Patrick had finally let that fake smile slip away. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” Mikey questioned, unable to leave it alone anymore.</p>
<p>Patrick was shaken from his thoughts, giving Mikey an almost deer in headlights expression. Mikey’s look of concern pushed him to be honest. “Well” he started “I’ve been trying to talk to Pete, to make up, y’know…” He paused.</p>
<p>“And?” Mikey prompted.</p>
<p>“I think he’s avoiding me.” Patrick responded glumly.</p>
<p>“Oh.” Mikey frowned unsure what to say to that, so they walked in silence until they split off waving goodbye.</p>
<p>The next day Mikey enlisted Ray and Atticus’ help in tracking Pete’s movements throughout the school day.</p>
<p>During lunch Friday Patrick followed after Mikey, confused they weren’t heading to their usual spot. They went into one of the back seldom used stairways and his eyes went wide as he saw Pete sitting there on the steps eating his lunch.</p>
<p>Pete froze, sandwich halfway to his mouth, blinking in shock as Mikey just stated “I think you guys need to talk.” then stepped back outside the door and closed it.</p>
<p>Pete grabbed his lunch bag and shoved his food back in it as he stood to run away yet again.</p>
<p>Patrick grabbed his arm. “Pete, wait. Please.”</p>
<p>Pete sank back down to the step, head down so he didn’t have to look at Patrick.</p>
<p>“I’ve missed you. I’m sorry.” Patrick tried.</p>
<p>Pete’s head snapped up to glare at him. “Oh I’m sure you have.” he scoffed. “I bet you’ve hardly even noticed with all the time you’ve been spending with Mikey.” His accusatory words hurt Patrick. He pressed his lips in a tight frown taking a heavy breath before responding sternly “I don’t understand why it’s such a bad thing for me to be friends with both of you! What gives you the right to decide I can’t?!”</p>
<p>Pete continued to glare.</p>
<p>“I care about both of you. You’re my best friend and I think I might really like like Mikey okay?” His voice broke as he realized what he was saying even as the words left his mouth. His eyes welled up with tears as he saw the new expression of shock on his friend's face. He turned to run out of the stairway without even waiting for a response. He didn’t need one he knew he had just ruined any chance at Pete forgiving him.</p>
<p>Patrick ran down the hallway and into the nearest bathroom, which was mercifully empty. He leaned on his hands against the counter, trying to take deep breaths as tears fell into the sink.</p>
<p>Mikey had been waiting in the hallway, a bit further down to give them some privacy. When he saw Patrick run by he called after him then followed when he didn’t stop. He opened the bathroom door to see Patrick crying there and quickly stepped over to him silently wrapping him in a hug. He wouldn’t ask what happened. He felt it wasn’t really any of his business &amp; anyways, he could assume it wasn’t good.</p>
<p>Patrick clung to him, burying his face against the taller boy’s shirt and let the tears fall heavy. He let out a sob and Mikey hugged him tighter to his chest, rocking a bit. It took quite a few minutes for him to calm down.</p>
<p>Mikey leaned away enough to look at Patrick. “Why don’t we leave early and go play some games at my place or something, okay? Take your mind off things.”</p>
<p>Patrick sniffled and nodded, wiping his face on his sweater sleeve.</p>
<p>“Okay” Mikey said quietly and hugged him again before letting go and leading him to the lockers to get their thing.</p>
<p>They left campus together and went back to Mikey’s house. No one else was there so they were able to take up the living room, getting absorbed in playing some game until they got too hungry and ordered a pizza. Gerard and Frank had shown up by the time it arrived, making some suggestive comments speculating what the other two had been doing alone in the house. After much uncomfortable blushing from Patrick and Mikey turning the speculation back on the other two, they called a truce and all decided to just have their pizza while watching a movie.</p>
<p>One movie turned into another and another and before he knew it Patrick was feeling quite tired. He may have drifted off during one of the movies because he didn’t really remember much of what happened. As the credits rolled and Gerard and Mikey debated which movie to start next, he glanced out the window and realized it had gotten dark. He sat up in a panic, promptly halting the discussion going on around him.</p>
<p>“Mornin' sunshine.” Frank laughed, thinking he had just gotten startled out of a dream.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong” Mikey questioned as Patrick scrambled over to put his shoes back on.</p>
<p>“It’s late!” Patrick half yelled.</p>
<p>Gerard and Frank were still looking at him confused, but Mikey understood &amp; provided the explanation. “He needs to get home, so he doesn’t get in trouble.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Gerard said flatly then also started toward the door. “Well let's go. We’ll drive him back.”</p>
<p>They all piled into the car and were at his house within a few minutes. Mikey gave him a hug and after hushing the calls, coming from the car, of “just kiss him already” with a glare and an annoyed “shut up”, they agreed to try to hang out again over the weekend.</p>
<p>Patrick however was not as lucky as the last time and his mom was awake and waiting for him when he walked in. Before she even said a word he launched into the explanation. “I’m sorry, mom. I was watching movies at Mikey’s and just lost track of time.”</p>
<p>“Patrick” she cut him off. “You know you need to let me know if you’re going to be out late. I think I’m pretty lenient with you but I know you got home late last weekend too and I don’t want this to turn into a habit. You can’t go out this weekend.”</p>
<p>He hung his head and accepted his fate, heading to his room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!<br/>I drew a cover for this, it can be found here: https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/7r45h_b01_m4pl3/11691897/4346/4346_1000.png<br/>A huge thank you to my wonderful friends who have helped proofread, work things out &amp; sail on this crack-ship with me ♡<br/>&amp; in the spirit of the 00s: No Flames! ;p</p><p>~this is not abandoned, life is just making it take a bit longer to write the next chapters~</p></blockquote></div></div>
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